Orphans are more likely to thrive in foster care than in orphanages, according to a new study from the University of Minnesota.

• Dr. Dana Johnson and his colleagues studied 136 babies in Romanian orphanages. The average age of the children was 21 months.
  
• Half the children stayed in the orphanages, where they got very little individual attention but adequate food, the other half were placed in foster care.
  
• Dr. Johnson's team assessed both groups of orphans on a regular basis starting in 1999.
• The children in foster care increased their heights and weights, as well as their IQs.
  
• After one year, all were in the normal range for height and 90 percent were normal for weight, although the children in the orphanages were behind in both measurements.
  

"Psychosocial stimulus interacts with the physiological system," said Prof. Nathan Fox, a member of the research team. "It increases the production of growth hormone and reduces stress. Providing adequate psychosocial stimulus is necessary for growth."

This study appeared in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

Labels: orphans, orphanages, foster care

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

In radical attempt to fix its child-care system, the Bulgarian government has announced plans to shut down all of its orphanages and homes for disabled children.

Citing past failed attempts to create real change in the current system, the government has set a 15-year deadline for scrapping the old and starting anew.

"According to a new strategy paper approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, the country's 137 communist-era welfare homes for orphans and disabled children will be closed down," the Independent News & Media has reported. "The more than 7 500 children living in such homes will be placed in foster families or adopted to help better integrate them into society."

The government says lack of funding, and lack of "political will" has kept all but the most cosmetic changes from being made at orphanages and group homes. The new plan would give top priority to placing the more than 1,300 disabled children who are currently wards of the state.

Labels: international, orphanages

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

When the devastating earthquake hit the Sichuan province of China in May 2008, officials estimated that over 5,000 children had been orphaned. Now, months later, the number has dropped to just over 500, and of those, just 88 are eligible for adoption as most others were taken in by relatives.

"The plight of the children featured strongly in both Chinese and international coverage of the earthquake, as it has done in previous disasters. Initial estimates said that 5,500 children had dead or missing parents, and phone lines in Sichuan provincial offices dealing with them were jammed with calls from would-be carers."

To date, just one child who was caught in the earthquake - Zhong Andi - has been adopted. Though he was living with his grandparents, they agreed to the adoption, believing it would give Andi a chance for a better life. Source: Telegraph (UK)

Labels: orphans, orphanages, China

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

In the wake of last week's deadly earthquake, thousands of Chinese are eagerly offering their homes to the more than 4,000 children who are now orphans. It's a surprising response in a country that has not encouraged adoption in the past.

"Some Chinese, reached this week by phone, said they want to adopt because they are unable to have a child of their own. Some see a chance to have a rare second child despite China's strict one-child policy. And some, like Wang [Liqin], whose own baby didn't survive childbirth this year, understand loss and want to help."

The outpouring of love and sympathy from the Chinese means that foreigners may not have a chance to adopt many of the orphaned children. Before any of the children are officially named "orphans," Chinese officials will try to reunite them with family members. Though current estimates put the number of orphans at 4,000, the actual figure can't be calculated while recovery efforts are still in the "search and rescue" phase. Source: Fox News

Labels: orphanages, China, natural_disasters

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Vietnam has announced that it will not renew a bilateral adoption agreement with the U.S. The announcement comes in the wake of a U.S. Embassy report that outlines corruption in the adoption system.

"In its nine-page report, the US Embassy said some American adoption agencies paid orphanage officials as much as US$10,000 per referral, while others took them on shopping sprees and junkets to the US in return for a flow of babies. It said questions arose after routine investigations turned up widespread inconsistencies in adoption paperwork."

The director of Vietnam's International Adoption Agency called the U.S. report "groundless," saying the United States has been uncooperative. As of July 1, the country will stop accepting American adoption applications. Source: Shanghai Daily

Boarding schools for girls with ADHD, like New Leaf Academy, can help in ways that traditional schools can't. By understanding the needs of girls with ADHD the caring faculty and staff at New Leaf teach middle school aged girls how to control their behaviors and succeed academically.

Labels: international, orphanages, bans

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Founded in 1993, the Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project exists to connect Russian orphans with families interested in adopting them.

"Russian adoptions require two trips to Russia - one to meet their child and another to finalize the adoption. But when families work through the Lighthouse Project, the Russian government generally counts the time spent with the child in America as the first visit..."

To date, 500 orphans have found permanent homes through Lighthouse. Source: MLive.com.

Labels: Russia, orphanages, adoption_agencies

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Girl Scout Troup 226 out of Warren, New Jersey has decided to do something unique with their cookie fundraiser money. Rather than spend the money on prizes for the girls, the troop decided collectively to donate some of dollars raised to an orphanage in the Republic of Georgia.

"Troop members met and discussed how to use the money. Among the ideas was one from Clara Citarella, then 7, who suggested donating some of the proceeds to the orphanage from which her family was going to adopt a child... 'When Clara headed to the Republic of Georgia to meet her brother for the first time, giving back to those kids seemed like a great way to honor her family and share a lesson of what others needed.'"

The troop members voted on Clara's and other suggestions and decided to donate money not only to the orphanage, but also the Make-a-Wish Foundation and a local animal shelter. The orphanage donation was also matched by EMK Press, a company owned by troop co-leader Carrie Kitze. Read more at C-N.com.

Copper Canyon Academy is a girls boarding school that helps troubled girls get back on track.

Labels: orphanages, donations, charity

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Guatemala is second only to China in the number of children that are adopted by US couples each year, but has the fewest regulations and restrictions in the region. This week, Guatemalan police discovered and rescued 46 children during a raid on a clandestine orphanage in Old Guatemala.

"Although authorities involved in this weekend's bust found paperwork that indicated family members had given the children up for adoption, the papers had not passed through the juvenile court which 'is the correct path for every adoption process,' said [prosecutor general spokesman Carlos] Azurdia."

The US State Department has called the Guatemalan adoption process rife with "conflicts of interest" and "improper financial gain". Read more at TurkishPress.com.

Equine therapy helps kids who are resistant to regular forms of talk therapy. Learn about the horsemanship program at Turn-About Ranch.

Labels: orphanages, scams, adoption_process

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

In May, Malaysia installed what it calls a “baby hatch” in a facility in Kuala Lumpur. The hatch allows parents to drop off infants they can’t care for.

“The first baby received by the centre, on June 27, has been adopted by a couple selected from 80 eligible parents, OrphanCARE which runs the centre was quoted as saying in the New Straits Times newspaper.” [Source: Arab Times]

Malaysia isn’t the only country with these types of infant drop-offs. Germany, Japan and Pakistan have them as well. Many were instituted in an effort to protect both abandoned babies and their parents.

 

Labels: international, orphans, orphanages, abandonment

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment

Man Shares Russian Adoption Story

When John Lahutsky was still a baby, he was placed in a Russian orphanage, which was his home until he was nine years old. His life took a turn for the better when a Pennsylvania woman adopted him out of the orphanage and took him home.

Lahutsky's story was the topic of a Sept. 1 article by John E. Usalis of The Standard Speaker:

[Lahutsky's] story also is told in the book, "The Boy from Baby House 10," which is co-authored by Lahutsky and Alan Philps, a British journalist. Philps and his wife, Sarah, were also instrumental in helping Lahutsky, then named Vanya, while in the orphanage system and to eventually come to America. ...

"I was born at 24 weeks with cerebral palsy," Lahutsky said. "Imagine a 2-pound baby trying to survive in 1990 in a Russian hospital. It is incredible that I made it."

When he was 18 months old, his birth parents abandoned him and his 6-year-old sister, Olga.

"We were stuck in an apartment for three days. It was not until my sister climbed up to the window and a neighbor noticed that we were alone and called the authorities," Lahutsky said. ...

"Truly a power beyond my control, the Lord told me that I was going to adopt this boy," Paula [Lahutsky] said. "So I adopted John as a single mom and we just celebrated our 11th anniversary."

Lahutsky is an honor roll student. His favorite subject is history, and he enjoys giving presentations about his life and his book. He has told his story to students in small classroom groups, his experiences moving the students emotionally. He also has spoken to Kiwanis, the Salvation Army and church groups.

 

Labels: international, Russia, orphanages, special_needs

Posted By: Adoption Issues 1 Comment